CORRECT UNDERSTANDIN

G OF EEMAN

Safety

security

Root word-

Aman pea

ce

IBN TAYMIYYAH ON “EEMAN”

Its extraction from the word aman is in essence “Al-Qaraar” (firmness) & “Tuma’ninah” (tranquillity) and that is only if the heart accepts it with truthfulness and obedience

EEMAN

BELIEF OF THE HEART (tasdeeq)

STATEMENT OF THE TONGUE (iqraar)

ACTION OF THE LIMB

Decreases with disobedience

Increases with obedience

All acts of obedience

in ones

Inner self

Outer self

Ibn Taymiyy

ahIman &

aqeedah are one

EEMAN

SPEECH

HEART

TONGUE

ACTION

HEART

TONGUE

LIMBS

Firm belief upon knowledge contained

Confirmation & affirmation with the tongue

Ibadah of the hearts (love, fear , hope etc.)

Enjoining good & forbidding evil, dhikr, repentance

Enjoining good, forbidding evil, salah, zakah, not cheating etc.

Speech of the heart Belief of the heart with respect to Allah and other pillars of iman

Knowledge contained in the heart and its firm belief in itTawheed ar-ruboobiyah & Asma was sifat

Tawheed Al-Uloohiyah (comes

under action)

Surah Zumar:33-34

Surah anam:7

5

Surah hujurat:

14Surah anfal:2

Sahih bukhari

& muslimEvidence for

the heart

Speech of the tongueTongue’s confirmation of what the heart containsSpeech of tongue related to knowledge

Evidence for the tongue

Surah qasas :

53

Surah ash-

shura:14

Surah Al-

Ahqaf(13)

Sahih bukhari

& muslim

Speech relates to knowledge and specific details of faith such as

• Correct belief in Allah• His tawheed• Matters of the Unseen such as hell-fire,

paradise, bridge over hell-fire• Hearts belief and conviction in these

things

Place of Knowledge & belief – speech of heart

Place of emotions &

feelings (Ibadah) – action of

heart

ACTIONS OF THE HEART

Feelings of the heart such as love, fear, hope, reliance, submission – ibaadah of the heart Includes tawheed al uloohiyah

Actions of the tongue

Eg- Dhikr, enjoining good & forbidding evil, seeking forgiveness etc. Includes Tawheed-al-uloohiyah as these actions should be for Allah aloneTongue just like the heart has two roles

Affirm belief of the heart like Belief in Allah, Prophet etc.

Acts of worship

specific to belief like Dhikr etc.

Action of the limbDoing what is commanded & keeping away from forbidden thingsPhysical acts of worship like praying, fasting, giving zakah, not backbiting , cheating etc.Also related to uloohiyah in that they should be done for Allah alone Actual acts of worship

Evidence for actions

Surah hajj:77

Surah Al-

baqarah :238

Sahih bukhari

:

  

When the hypocrites come to you (O Muhammad SAW), they say: "We bear

witness that you are indeed the Messenger of Allâh." Allâh knows that

you are indeed His Messenger and Allâh bears witness that the hypocrites are

liars indeed. [Munaafiqoon 63:1]

Here the hypocrites are treated as liars, even though they expressed with their tongues their testification that Muhammad is indeed the Messenger of Allaah.

They were that day, nearer to disbelief than to Faith, saying

with their mouths what was not in their hearts. And

Allâh has full knowledge of what they conceal [Aali Imraan :167] (Also al-Fath :11)

Decreases with

disobedienceIncreases

with obedience

The believers are only those who, when Allâh is mentioned, feel a fear in their hearts and when His Verses (this Qur'ân) are recited unto them, they

(i.e. the Verses) increase their Faith; and they put their trust

in their Lord (Alone) [Surah Anfaal 8:2]"Eemaan consists of seventy-odd

branches, the highest of which is to testify None has the right to be

worshipped except Allah and the lowest of which is to remove something

harmful from the floor, and modesty is a part of eemaan." (Bukhaaree, Muslim

Abu Daawood, Ahmad, Ibn Maajah, and others.)

"The most perfect of people with respect to his eemaan,

is the best of them in his manners."

(Bazzaar, all of its narrators are reliable and al-Haithamee mentioned it in Majmoo az-Zawaaid)

Hadeeth: "Whoever loves for Allaah (alone), hates for Allaah (alone), gives for Allaah (alone)

and withholds for Allaah (alone), then he has perfected

eemaan." (Abu Daawood - saheeh).

Complete/perfect (increases until reaches the likes of mountain)Incomplete

/ imperfect (decreases until as small as atoms weight)

EEMAN

Iman decreases & increases subject to the degree of sincerity, love,

hope, fear etc. in the heart

Eg- Zina – Iman decreases & can disappear for the

time being

“No adulterer is a believer at the time when he iscomitting adultery, no thief is a believer at the time When he is committing adultery, no thief is a believer at the time when he is stealing, no drinker of wine is a believer the time when he is drinking it” (Bukhari & Muslim)

BRANCHES OF EEMANRequired for completion & perfection of eemanLack of them does not make one exit from islam

Defecient

eemanSinner/ Faasiq

Does not make one

kaafir

Hadd/sharee

punitive acts

(stealing,zina,slander etc.)

ESSENTIAL PILLARS OF EEMAN

If any of the pillars are not believed then the whole of the eeman becomes null

and void

KHAWARIJ

MURJIAH

INCORRECT UNDERSTANDING OF EEMAN- THE TWO EXTREMES

Deny the part that faith increases and decreases

A muslim is out of the fold of islam if he commits a major sin and thus they fight the muslims by declaring takfir on them

Extreme murjiah limit faith to affirmation of the heart without actions or statements

Thus they do not declare kufr even on those who do major acts of kufr

Mutazillite

Assign the sinner a station between belief and disbelief

Claim Quran is created Man’s action totally independent of

Allah’s will

“Indeed does not forgive association

with Him but He forgives what is

less than that for whom He wills.

And he who associates others

with Allah has certainly

fabricated a tremendous sin”

(Nisa:48)

“..And whoever disobeys Allah and

His Messenger – then indeed for him is the fire of

hell; they will abide therein

forever.”(Jinn:23)

Proofs against the deviant beliefs QURAN - Sinners have the threat but not expulsion

from deen

OTHER DEVIANT BELIEFS

Deny the existence of Qadr Negation of Allah’s prior knowledgeYahya ibn Umar said that he told Ibn Umar about how the

Qadariyah denied the Qadr of Allah whereupon he distanced himself from them and told him that “Allah would not accept any of their good deeds even if they were the most sincere of His worshippers until they believed in Qadr” (Introduction to sahih Muslim)

QADARIYYAH

JAHMIYYAH

Humans forced to do what they do- denied

abilty to humans

Allah cannot be attributed with

creations’ adjectivesParadise & hell

will endFaith comprises

only Allah’s knowledge

Actions -only as a figure of speech

Allah’s knowledge has a

beginning

ImanKufr

Literally “to cover/to hide”

Covers the truthThat which

nullifies iman

Rejection of Allah/prophethood/anything prophet came with or any action which is clear cut kufr

Kafir- Someone who rejects

Allah’s divinity or prophethood or

shariah

Kufr